Scheffler traded to Lions

Denver Broncos tight end Tony Scheffler has been traded to the Detroit Lions. (David Zalubowski, The Associated Press)

Broncos tight end Tony Scheffler and a seventh-round draft pick have been traded to the Detroit Lions in a three-team trade that sends the Philadelphia Eagles’ fifth-round draft choice to Denver and Detroit outside linebacker Ernie Sims, a former top 10 draft pick, to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Say this for the Broncos: They have taken the high road when it comes to granting the wishes of disgruntled stars who want out. Star quarterback Jay Cutler demanded a trade last year and the Broncos worked out a deal with the Chicago Bears, the team he rooted for while growing up in Indiana.

Brandon Marshall made it clear he wanted out and the Broncos traded their top receiver last week to Miami, which is down the road from his hometown in Orlando.

And now the talented Scheffler has been sent to Detroit, an hour’s drive from his hometown of Chelsea, Mich.

That Scheffler wound up in Detroit is a bit surprising considering the Lions last year used a first-round pick, and $9.4 million in financial guarantees, on tight end Brandon Pettigrew. However, Pettigrew suffered a season-ending torn ACL injury on his left knee in Game 11 against Green Bay.

Scheffler not only adds protection in case Pettigrew takes a while to rebound, but he will play on the affordable $1.176 million salary he was tendered by the Broncos as a restricted free agent last month.

The three-team trade went through after Scheffler agreed not to seek a new contract. He would become an unrestricted free agent after this season if the league reaches a new collective bargaining agreement.

Sims, who the Lions selected with the No. 9 pick in the 2006 draft, is in the final year of his five-year rookie deal that will pay him $1.05 million this year.

McDaniels is the not the right coach for our beloved Broncos. He has destroyed the team on offense (Cutler, Marshal and Scheffler). What have we received for these so called smart trades? Nada! I have no faith in his coaching ability, his draft selections, or the way he treats his players. What a jerk! I will now have my Sundays free next fall because I can not stand the sight of my team getting smacked around by other teams.

KenPS

OK, Robinski. Now that Tony has left Denver, after Brandon M. and Jay are already gone, you want to join other so-called Bronco “fans” in taking a swipe at Josh and jumping ship. Well, fine with me. However, the Broncos were 24-24 when those aforementioned three players were all teammates in Denver, so I don't see how there could be a “destruction” of the team going on. And–get this: In the 10 years Josh was on the Pats' staff, New England got to four Super Bowls and won three of them. In those same 10 years, the Broncos got to the playoffs four times and won only one playoff game. Josh is trying to bring a title back to Denver. What fan can argue with that? Yet you continue to prove the old saying, “Don't confuse me with the facts.” As for those guys who were shipped out, a coach can't coach players who don't want to play for him. They can accuse him of “misleading” them all he wants(which is what Jay did), but if the player doesn't have the desire to help the team, there's not much the coach can do. And about Tony specifically, he is a great receiving TE but not a very good blocker. In Josh's offense the TE is supposed to block as well as catch passes. Daniel Graham has a solid pair of hands, but he excels mainly as a blocker. That's the kind of “team” player Josh likes.

Mike Klis has been with The Denver Post since 1998, after working 13 years with the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph. Major League Baseball was Klis' initial passion. He started covering the Colorado Rockies after Coors Field was approved for construction in August 1990.

Nicki Jhabvala is the Sports Digital News Editor for The Denver Post. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor, and she was most recently the overnight home page editor at the New York Times. She has reported regularly on the Broncos since joining the staff.

A published author and award-winning journalist, Benjamin Hochman is a sports columnist for The Denver Post. He previously worked on the staff of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winners of two Pulitzer Prizes for their Hurricane Katrina coverage.